2 Buck Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point

If you live in the Utah County area-here is a deal for you.
You can visit one of three venues for only two dollars on Tuesdays during the month of August.
Here is the link for the site to get more info

I called my sister and we are going to go one of these Tuesdays to check out the amazing things available at Thanksgiving Point.
I will give an update on how it goes-I just wanted to share the great deal while it is available so you can all take advantage of this great offer.

Father's Day

So my sister called me to tell me about a deal at Walgreens for Father's Day.
They are doing a free 8x10 collage.

You can even put a title at the top if you want like the example below

I made one for my husband and am planning on making this a tradition. I used photos of him with Sweet Pea and of him with me while pregnant.
I picked it up today and it turned out great.
Hopefully Papa Pine will love it.

Bella Band

Finding clothes to wear before having a baby and after is a challenge.
Something I used that made it a lot easier was my bella band.
It is just an elastic band that you can use to cover up your belly
when it peeks out from between your shirt and pants.
They come in many different colors - Black, White and a few others,
and they are made by Ingrid & Isabel.
Here is the link to the official site:


Here is the one I wear.

These are great for post-pregnancy too
since it takes a little while to get back to pre-pregnancy shape.

Moby Wrap

So it is hard to get anything done when you have a fussy baby
that doesn't want to be put down.
That is when the Moby wrap comes in very handy.

I heard of this carrier from my cousin, who had one.
I saw her carrying her little one in it
(she has two younger children as well)
and she was able to get around just fine.

So after finding the color I liked (moss green) I ordered it from Babies 'r' us.
And I have loved it since.
I recently watched my sister's two young boys while she was on a cruise with her husband.
I don't think I would have survived without it.
Here is a pic of me with the Moby in action.

I love this wrap.
There are many different ways to wear it.
Here is a link with a few -

It is a great carrier for when you have a newborn
because it supports the head and neck of your little one.
Sweet Pea loves it when she gets to cuddle with mommy
and I love it because she is happy and usually will fall asleep in it.

If you are thinking of getting a carrier this is a great one and
I highly recommend it.

Gas Problems

So my little Sweet Pea was feeling bad and was gassy.
I talked with my sister about what she did with her kids when they were the same way.
She said that she used Mylicon.
It is safe for infants, even newborns,
because the main ingredient simethicone isn't ingested by the body.

Well after visiting a couple stores that didn't carry it, I ended up at walmart and ended up buying their brand of the same thing - pictured below.

Well it works just as well as the Mylicon brand but a lot cheaper.
(It was under $5 vs over $10 for Mylicon).
I recommend this for gassy babies because it works very quickly,
which is great when you have a crying baby.
I have used it on several occasions for Sweet Pea and
will use it on any of her following siblings.

Homemade Tutu

You can either buy these at the store for around $30 or make it yourself for about an hour of time and around $4 (less if you have coupons or buy the tulle on sale).

I have made one that is just white and another with three colors; pink, white and brown. The pink is harder to see and I would suggest either doing two pieces at the same time or trying to find a darker pink so it shows up more.
The possibilities are endless for color combinations, size and fluffiness.

Here is all you need; Elastic, whichever size you want of which I used leftover I had from making me and my husband's pajama pants, and a package of 25 yds of 6" tulle that you can get at almost any craft/hobby store. Both pictured below.

It's easiest to cut all the strips first so that you can loop them onto the elastic all at once without having to stop to cut more strips.
The length of the strips depends on how long you want the tutu. Just measure how far you want it to go on your little one and then double it and cut. I used all of the 25 yards for the white tutu and about 35 yards for the multiple colored one. Just depends on how fluffy you want it and how long you cut the strips.

Measure the waist of your little one for the length you need the elastic and then either hand sew it or use a machine then put it on your leg to attach the tulle.

The video below shows how you loop a piece around the elastic.

Good luck and have fun making your own!

And here is the white one on my little Sweet Pea.

Choroid Plexus Cysts on the brain

We learned we were having a beautiful baby girl and that she had 3 cysts on her brain on the same day.
It was a moment of happiness and then a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach.
Here is some info from a website we found http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/Birth/Birth-defects/Choroid-Plexus-Cysts-%28CPC%29
"Approximately 1-2% of all women that have an ultrasound between 16 and 24 weeks will be diagnosed with fetal choroid plexus cysts.
The choroid plexus is a tissue in the brain that produces cerebrospial fluid. During a second trimester ultrasound, doctors will often find a cyst(s) in the choroid plexus. Usually these cysts will go away by the 28th week of pregnancy and will not affect the baby.
A CPC tells doctors that there could be another chromosomal abnormality present. The presence of CPC's indicates an increased risk for trisomy 18 (Edward's Syndrome). Women that are diagnosed with this condition will be offered additional ultrasound examinations and an amniocentesis"

Our midwife told us that we shouldn't worry because everything else measured normally and there were no other signs of anything being wrong. We still wanted to be sure that everything was going to be fine and scheduled a second ultrasound 2 months later.
We did a lot of praying and reading online about this and we both felt that we didn't need to worry. Especially since there was nothing we could do even if anything was wrong.
The next ultrasound revealed that the cysts were gone. So we had nothing to worry about. I wanted to share this so that if you get the same news, you will know about it before hand.

The Birth, without an epidural and many other things

I just gave birth to a little girl. This was my second pregnancy, I placed a little girl with her adopted family five years ago, so I knew a little of what to expect. Well, for a delivery with an epidural. That is not what happened.

My labor was only 6 hours long. I arrived at the hospital a little after 8am and our daughter was born at 9:36am. The anesthesiologist was sent next door first since I was just dilated to a 5. When he finally arrived it was too late. I was dilated to a 9 and my body was telling me to start pushing.
And that is what I did. My body at this point took over and just started pushing. I didn't have any control over what my body did (including the screaming).
Thankfully I had read about what happens when you give birth naturally since sometimes there isn't time for an epidural or it fails when given. So I was a little prepared for it.
My little one gave me quite the scare when she was born. She was born in her water sac, no time to break it. She had already passed some meconium and they were afraid she may have swallowed some poo. Lastly, she had the cord around her neck and it was a little tight.
So, even though I had wanted them to wait to cut the cord until it had stopped pulsing since it is easier on the child, it was cut immediately, to my horror. Then, the midwife did not hand me my baby but gave her to a doctor. I was unaware of all the complications of her birth and just wanted to hold my baby.
Luckily, in spite of all this and an apgar score of a 1 at birth, she was just fine, with an apgar score of 8 only 5 minutes after birth.
They still took her for a few tests to make sure she was okay. The were worried about her since her weight was also low for a full-term baby, 2 days late to be exact. She was only 6lbs 15oz at birth but I wasn't too worried since she had been a lower weight the whole pregnancy.
Mom was fine too. My recovery was a lot faster and easier without the epidural, and luckily I didn't tear.
I don't recommend going natural, because I am not good at tolerating pain and enjoy the birth more with an epidural. But to each their own and I recommend preparing yourself with classes or a doula (birthing coach) to prepare for the birth.